Covid-19 infections are climbing across Europe and Asia. Here are top 10 updates

Hong Kong, China and South Korea are among the several South Asian countries which have seen a spike in Covid-19 cases in the past few weeks. Authorities in Hong Kong and China have so far stuck to a “dynamic zero covid” policy seeking to curb outbreaks as soon as they occur extensive contact tracing, testing and isolation. However, since February the former has struggled to cope as infections and deaths soared, forcing authorities to shift to mitigation measures.
Across Europe, pandemic restrictions are easing even as new infections are being reported. Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland have all seen an increase in Covid-19 infections in the past weeks.
Here are key updates from around the globe.
➡️ Hong Kong plans to relax some anti-Covid-19 measures next month, lifting a ban on flights from nine countries, reducing quarantine and reopening schools, after a backlash from business and residents.
➡️ China’s financial hub Shanghai on Tuesday reported a fifth consecutive daily record for locally transmitted Covid-19 asymptomatic cases as the highly infectious Omicron variant complicates efforts to stop the virus spreading.
➡️ Hong Kong officials are finally easing harsh restrictions on travel and schools that saw emigration spike. It’s a grudging acceptance that contradictory policies have failed, and it comes too late to yield much economic dividend.
➡️ New Zealand’s Minry of Defence said it has suspended plans to build an Antarctic and Southern Ocean patrol vessel because planned spending is being reassessed due to the impact on the government’s budget of costs related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

➡️ While telemedicine is technically illegal in South Korea and has only been allowed under emergency Covid measures since 2020, the increase in its users and support from President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol who sees it as an “inevitable reality” suggest it may remain part of the healthcare system.
➡️ The US drug regulator said a panel of independent advisers will meet on April 6 to discuss considerations for use of Covid-19 vaccine booster doses.
➡️ Police have begun to interview witnesses as part of their investigation into alleged breaches of lockdown rules at gatherings in British Prime Miner Boris Johnson’s office and residence, the Metropolitan Police said on Monday.

➡️ Covid-19 and lockdowns have slowed efforts to monitor and vaccinate children against other diseases such as polio, a WHO Africa coordinator told Reuters.
➡️ Most children and adolescents do not have Covid-19 antibodies in their blood after recovering from a SARS-CoV-2 infection, new data has confirmed.
➡️ The Philippines central bank will leave policy on hold at Thursday’s meeting to support a nascent recovery, despite a recent US Federal Reserve rate hike and surging commodity prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Reuters poll found.
(Compiled from Reuters, Associated Press reports)